Folding clothes rack and utility dresser



Nov. 25, 1969 D. J. THOMPSON 3,479,972

FOLDING CLOTHES RACK AND UTILITY DRESSER Filed May 14, 1968 Delford J. Thompson INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,479,972 FOLDING CLOTHES RACK AND UTILITY DRESSER Delford J. Thompson, 1341 S. 6th, Sunnyside, Wash. 98944 Filed May 14, 1968, Ser. No. 728,978 Int. Cl. A4713 96/14, 3/02 U.S. Cl. 10829 Claims ABSCT OF THE DISCLOSURE A folding clothes rack having scissor type support legs of specific lengths so that when set-up a horizontal rod secured to the upper ends of one pair of legs is disposed midway between the supporting feet laterally of the rod axis, and novel hook-type fingers, on a shelf pivotally connected to the other pair of legs, for hooking over the rod to anchor the rack in its set-up configuration.

My invention relates broadly to furniture and more particularly to foldable and portable furniture which may be easily transported in a folded position and set up for use similarly to a camp stool.

When camping out for short periods of time at changing locations, it is desirable to have apparatus for hanging ones clothing and placing certain personal articles in a convenient and safe location. .Heretofore, it has been customary to place personal articles such as billfolds, glasses, pencils andso-forth in ones shoes, while sleeping overnight, and hanging ones clothes on pegs or hangers supported by trees or tent poles or wires strung for this purpose. For obvious reasons, this is unsatisfactory to say the least and I have therefore devised a unique clothes rack and utility dresser which I prefer to call a tent valet.

My improved clothes rack and utility dresser provides a horizontal shelf to receive the personal effects one desires to keep overnight without storing them on or near the ground and together therewith presents a horizontal bar upon which ones clothing may be hung by means of conventional Wire or Wooden hangers.

Since the area within the conventional campers tent is restricted, the clothes rack and utility dresser must be maintained at a minimum depth, front to back, to accomodate the average wearing apparel of an average man. Jackets, coats, and similar apparel for a 200 pound man measure approximately 19 inches from shoulder to shoulder when hung on the conventional hanger and a rod supported 36 inches above ground will permit coats and single-folded pants to hang with suflicient clearance to preclude moisture transfer from the ground to the apparel. Obviously, this excepts longer-type overcoats and kneelength jackets.

To conserve the floor area in a restricted tent, it is desirable that the lower ends or feet of the rack do not extend beyond the area normally required for the clothing, and yet, if the base support is too narrow, a slight bump may cause the center of gravity to move outwardly of the supporting feet and cause the rack to fall over. It is therefore desirable that the rod upon which the clothing is to be hung be substantially midway between the marginal limits of the supporting base.

My present invention provides a unique clothes rack and utility dresser which has inherent therein all of the foregoing benefits in which the spread of the supporting legs is maintained within a reasonable measurement. The

hanger support rod is disposed substantially midway between the spread of the feet of said supporting legs to give maximum stability and at a height sufficient to support most wearing apparel spaced above the ground. The

ice

valet also includes a horizontal shelf to receive personal effects.

In addition to these desirable features, my device is foldable to a fiat position for transporting from place to place, thus it requires a minimal amount of space in a vehicle while in the collapsed or folded position.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent and meaningful during the course of the following specification when considered in association with the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of the invention is graphically illustrated. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It should also be understood that various changes in construction may be resorted to in the course of manufacture without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention, which is to be understood only in accordance with the appended claims. Furthermore, it should be understood that while the invention is described in one particular field of utility, it is not my intention to so limit the applicability of the invention, but I desire to reserve to myself the claimed invention for every use of which it is now known to be or subsequently discovered to be susceptible.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a physical embodiment of my present invention, including strategic dimensions and angular relationships;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of one end thereof; and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical cross section of one releasable hook securing the device in its unfolded position.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, the numeral 10 indicates a flat elongated board or shelf member which is sutficiently wide to support the various personal items one may wish to place thereupon, say for example, 5 or 6 inches, and of a length suitable to receive a suflicient number of clothes hangers to accommodate the apparel normally accompanying a number of people on camping trips and outdoor activities; say, for example, 24 inches. Obviously, the dimensions may vary in accordance with personal needs and selection.

Secured at the ends thereof are angle memers 1212 which are disposed in parallel relationship to each other. The angle members 1212 have their horizontal flanges 14-14 riveted as at 1616, or otherwise secured, to the bottom side of the shelf member 10 at the ends thereof so that their vertical flanges 1818 are fixed rigidly with the shelf member 10 and project downwardly at right angles thereto coincident to the end edges 2020 of said shelf member 10. The shelf member 10 has an elongated rearward edge 22 and a parallel front edge 24. It will also be noted that the angle members 12-12 extend forwardly beyond the front edge 24 for a distance and terminate in downwardly arcing hooks 2626 which are spaced inwardly from the flange 18 to provide openings 28-28, between their respective flange 18 and hook 26, of a size and dimension substantially equal to a parallel dimension of the upper end 30 of its companion first leg 30.

The said first leg 30 has an upper extension identified by X in FIGURE 1 and the lower extension identified by X in FIGURE 1 and separately defined by the pivot axis of bolt 32 which passes through the first leg 30 and the second leg 34. A spacer 36 having an axial dimension substantially equal to the parallel thickness of flange 18 is disposed between each set of legs 30 and 34 which permits the upper ends 30' and 34 to be disposed at opposite sides of said flange 18. Each leg 34 is also provided with an upper extension Y and a lower extension Y.

At their lower ends, the legs 30 and 34 are provided with rungs 3838 which interconnect the lower ends of corresponding alochiral first and second legs and at its upper end the leg 30 is provided with a rung 40 interconnecting the upper ends of the alochiral first legs 30.

The rung 40 serves as a clothes bar upon Which hangers may be hung and also as a member cooperating with the hook 26 to secure the rack in its unfolded or set-up position as clearly seen in FIGURES .2 and 3 of the drawing. As shown in FIGURE 1, the rung 40 is preferably disposed vertically midway between and parallel to the rungs 38 which are adjacent to the feet 3232 of the legs 30 and 34.

While the dimensions an angles herein disclosed are not critical, the relative measurements are herein shown to facilitate practice of the invention.

The height H from the axis of the rung 40 to the supporting surface should be substantially 36 inches, but obviously, for smaller or larger apparel, this distance may be varied. To reveal the relative dimensions, the measure ment X is employed as a unit and the dimensions calc lated from this unit are as follows:

This construction disposes the second leg substantially at an angle 22 from vertical and the first legs at an angle substantially 13 from vertical.

The rungs 38 are centered substantially .125X above the lower end or foot 32-32 of their respective legs.

It will be noted that X is approximately .2X shorter than Y, which provides for folding of the first legs within the second legs in juxtaposition with the feet clearing the rung 38 interconnecting the second legs. Also the dimension X is .OSX shorter than the dimension Y which provides clearance between the ends 30 of the first legs 30 and the horizontal flanges 14 of the angle members 12 to permit juxtaposition of the upper portions X and Y of the legs 30 and 34. Thus in the folded position, the thickntss of the rack is only equal to the thickness of the shelf member and the width of the juxtaposed legs 3034.

Having thus disclosed my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is recited in the following claims:

1. A folding clothes rack and utility dresser, comprismg:

a flat elongated shelf member; flanges rigid with and projecting downwardly at right angles at the ends of said shelf in spaced parallel relationship to each other and extending laterally beyond a side edge of said shelf; hooks rigid with respect to and at the extended ends of said flanges and spaced inwardly toward each other, whereby to define an opening between each hook and its respective flange;

a support frame having at each end first and second legs pivotally interconnected for movement from a folded juxtaposition to an unfolded substantially X-shape;

rungs interconnecting the lower ends of corresponding alochiral first and second legs;

a rung interconnecting the upper ends of the alochiral first leg;

the upper ends of the second legs being pivotally connected to said flanges opposed to said hooks; and

said legs, pivots and rungs being constructed and arranged to admit of movement of said legs selectively between said juxtaposed folded position and the open position wherein the said hooks are engaged over said last-named rung with the upper ends of the first legs disposed in their respective openings.

2. The invention according to claim 1 and further characterized by:

said legs construction and arrangement, comprising:

the said first legs being shorter from their lower ends to the said pivotal interconnection, disposing them at a greater angle from horizontal than said second legs to position the last-named rung vertically between the lower ends of said first and second legs.

3. The invention according to claim 2 and further characterized by:

said last-named rung being disposed substantially midway between the lower ends of said first and second legs.

4. The invention according to claim 2 and further characterized by:

spacers of a dimension at least equal to the parallel thickness of said flanges to space said first and second leg relative to each other to dispose the upper ends thereof at opposite sides of their respective flanges, whereby to rigidity said clothes rack.

5. The invention according to claim 2 and further characterized by:

the spacing of said hooks being substantially equal to the parallel dimensions of the upper ends of said legs received in said openings; and

said hooks extending over and catching said last-named rung below a horizontal plane centric of said rung.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 268,214 11/1882 Frazee 108-119 687,772 12/1901 Northrup 108-119 1,412,314 4/1922 Pandofo 108l19 1,543,985 6/1925 Caldwell et a1 10829 3,139,845 7/1964 Kolinski 108119 3,224,389 12/1965 Kent 108-419 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner GLENN O. FINCH, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 108119 

